Unmedicated birth advice

[pitch]

@hansoj This! Apparently I need to make animal noises while I labour- first baby was defo moo-ing like a cow type vibes, second baby I felt an urgent need to be blowing air out through my lips like a horse. Definitely wasn’t how I’d imagined it would go, but there we are.

First time around I felt like I’d failed because I wasn’t calmly and serenely ‘breathing baby out’, but luckily friends talked some sense into me and by my second time I just fully embraced that my labours are a bit frantic and I make weird noises. There won’t be a third time (because I’m old, not because it’s awful. I’d actually truthfully love to give birth again).

Both my births were unmedicated and I found it actually surprisingly achievable. I shan’t lie, it really bloody hurt, but labour pain is supposed to hurt so it wasn’t terrifying pain that signals something going wrong, it was expected pain that signals baby is being born.

 

[m5comp]

@firewithin I agree with this. Hypnobirthing would not have worked as well for me as accepting that it hurt and that didn’t mean anything was wrong. Besides mentally preparing for that by learning about all the wonderful hormones that cycle around (which pain help drive), the other thing that helped was techniques that gave me a different sensation to focus on. It doesn’t make it not hurt but it gives you a mental life raft to focus on a hand to squeeze, a massage, a cold rag, anything. It’s about not getting sucked under the waves of pain mentally.

 

[godsgraceneeded]

@firewithin Yes to the find what helps you part in particular! I found my body knew what it needed to do and everyone in the room telling me to do this or that was just a distraction. Ironically part of the reason I wanted to have an unmedicated birth was to move around and be in different birth positions but when the time came my body just wanted me to stay in bed and deliver on my back same as I would if I had an epidural. Go figure

 

[renton90]

@catholic2001 I thought about it like an athletic event, only the “prize” for finishing was a baby, not a ribbon or trophy lol

 

[hedowns]

@renton90 Oh man I wish someone would have handed me a beer and a banana after giving birth

 

[abnormal2001]

@hedowns Ahahaha my husband got me a turkey sandwich, Oreos and lemonade and honestly that felt pretty close

 

[paddy999]

@catholic2001 Movement movement movement. I didn’t do any of the classes, but I did read a bunch of birth affirmations and kept my favorites in my head for when it got painful. I also reminded myself that when it got really bad it meant it was almost over. I also watched call the midwife because if every women in 1940 could do it unmedicated.. I figured I could too

 

[reneprays]

@paddy999 YES! I think we overthink it so much because of all the options these days. Not saying books and classes aren’t helpful but there’s a lot of noise out there.

 

[ricardodonallyo]

@catholic2001 I followed a lot of YouTube and IG accounts for unmedicated birth. I did a lot of stretches and breathing practices. I had all these great ideas and mantras that I planned on utilizing during labor. I did not listen or entertain any negative birth stories. I avoided them online and asked friends and family to not share them. I kept a positive outlook on birth in general. Women have been giving birth for thousands of years successfully, why can't i?

Honestly, once the pain ramped up, the only things I could think of were: that every contraction is doing a job, working to bring my baby down & that contractions only last up to a minute. I counted the seconds with every contraction. It gave me something tangible to focus on. Also, putting my palms on the counter and lifting my weight onto my arms on my tip toes really helped. Don't know why but it did haha. Also a warm shower really helped in the early stages (contractions about 7 min apart). I did use a birthing comb towards the end, and it was helpful. My hand was completely bruised by the end though!

I held out at home as much as possible. I was a FTM and didn't go to the hospital until my contractions were 3-4 mins apart. I got there at 8cm with that mindset. At that point, I felt like I was superwoman, that I made it to 8cm without anything. I declined the epidural and was able to push and have a happy healthy baby.
Good luck mama you got this!

 

[kallen63]

@ricardodonallyo Any YT/IG accounts you recommend in particular?

 

[ricardodonallyo]

@kallen63 Ig:
Karathebabynurse
Pelvicfloormama
Betterbirthcompany
Youtube: a werking mama (highly recommend!)

Once you start watching, the algorithm will send you more!

 

[relle25]

@catholic2001 If it helps to hear, I pushed for 2 hours as well with my first kid and my second and third births had much shorter push phases (13 minutes and 9 minutes) which I think is pretty common- might be reassuring!

My second baby was my unmedicated birth. I tried to prep with hypnobirthing techniques and reading positive birth stories. It was a really positive experience, but the stars really lined up for me with him- I showed up to the hospital already 8 cm dilated and had a hospital waterbirth; from start to finish with active labor it was less than 4 hours.

I think it's great you're flexible! I had hoped to repeat the experience with my third baby, but I PPROM'ed in week 36 and was GBS+ and was not progressing, so I ended up having to have a pitocin induction. For me personally, pitocin was just too much when it came to unmedicated birth. For what it's worth, though, even though I ended up with an epidural in the last 1.5 hours of labor with him I didn't tear at all and it was my best pp recovery- even better than my unmedicated birth.

My one major issue with recovery after unmedicated birth even though it was a really great experience altogether was pushing made me more stressed without an epidural and it really exacerbated some pre-existing hemorrhoids to the point where it was pretty horrendous the next couple of weeks afterwards. I have to confess, pushing for only 9 minutes with my third in combo with the epidural made me much more calm and less strain-y, so there was that.

Best of luck!

 

[lizam]

@relle25 Yeah, round 1 was 2 hours. Round 2 was 3 pushes. They were 1oz different in size.

 

[csadler]

@catholic2001 Counter pressure! Also a fan blowing in my face and cold washcloths helped me with the pain. You’ve gotta make sure to keep your jaw relaxed and breathe breathe breathe. I know a lot of people love moving around to manage pain but both of my births I just wanted to lay on my side in bed

 

[joejoe58]

@csadler Counter pressure from my doula did really stand out beyond everything else.

 

[csadler]

@joejoe58 Same! My doula showed my 7 year old how to do it too. Game changer!

 

[texasredneck]

@catholic2001 I read Hypnobirthing and Ina May's books but in the moment, the contractions took over and I was flying by the seat of my pants. My coping mechanisms varied from swearing to grunting to deep breathing.

With my first, I laboured standing for the most part, and my husband and midwife would take turns applying pressure to my hips to help with the pain.

What really helped me with my second was going to see my pelvic floor physiotherapist when I was about 8 months pregnant. She spent the appointment helping me isolate the muscles that would best push baby out so I had the right technique. My first took almost an hour and a half of pushing. My second, about 5-10 minutes. Yes, my second labour was naturally faster than my first, but knowing which muscles to focus on helped SO much. Highly recommend!

 

[chriatopher]

@catholic2001 Big fan of hypnobirth! A labour comb also helped me a Lot through transition.

 

[koytupile1989]

@chriatopher I did the Positive Birth Company course and found it so helpful. My husband did it with me and it helped him to coach me through.

 

[micahisme]

@koytupile1989 This is the course I did for both of my births and I also really recommend it!